TB10

Soil Temperature, under bare soil (10 cm)

The average temperature at a depth of 10 centimeters below the ground during a 15-minute interval; the surface under which the measurement is taken is not vegetated.

Thermistor probes sheathed in stainless steel (prior to December 2013) or thermocouple sensor (December 2013 and afterward) are buried horizontally in undisturbed ground. Because the cables connecting the thermistors to the tower might conduct surface heat and divert draining rainwater, they were buried deeper than the thermistors, then angled upward.

Bare soil temperatures are useful for planting decisions under conventional tillage regimes (i.e., the vast majority of Oklahoma farms) and can be used to monitor soil conditions until a complete crop canopy develops.